Review: Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT

The Elipson Facet 6BT speaker belongs to the French manufacturer’s Prestige Facet range. Although using the same drivers as the compact and floorstanding models, this is the only active speaker in the Prestige Facet range. Its integrated amplifier features multiple analog and digital inputs, as well as a Bluetooth receiver.

Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT: multi-source

The Elipson Facet 6BT is designed to work without an amplifier. The speaker’s main advantage is that it doesn’t call for complicated connections, or for much cabling at all. The speaker is fitted with an aptX compatible Bluetooth receiver and can play music streamed from a smartphone or tablet, as well as from TVs featuring a Bluetooth transmitter. The optical input lets you connect a digital source such as an HDTV, a network player, or a CD player. Lastly, the RCA and mini-jack inputs can be used to connect any analog source, including a turntable, thanks to the Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT’s integrated RIAApreamp compatible with moving magnet cartridges (MM), which can also be bypassed. A grounding post is located on the back of the speaker to eliminate background noise when listening to records.

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT’s analog and digital inputs.

Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT: speaker drivers

The Elipson Prestige 6BT speaker is a 2-way model fitted with a 5.5” mid-bass driver and a 1” fabric dome tweeter. The particularity of these drivers is that they are fitted with a sculpted rubber ring designed to improve the circulation of soundwaves along the speaker’s front panel, thus minimizing acoustic interference. The bass driver is installed within a bass-reflex enclosure with a rear-firing circular port. Elipson announces a frequency response of 57 Hz – 25 kHz and a sensitivity of 90 dB/W/m.

Accessories

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT comes with a remote control and 4 m of speaker wire to connect the speakers to each other. Note that the amplifier is integrated into one of the two speakers; the other one is passive.

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT passive speaker’s terminals.

Test conditions

These speakers are extremely easy to set up and we started listening to music in no time. After switching the integrated amplifier on, all the adjustments can be made using the included remote control. Pairing the speakers with our smartphone via Bluetooth was extremely easy, and the remote control’s track selection keys and play/pause button work really well with Deezer. Most of our listening sessions with the Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT relied on a Bluetooth connection, or used the optical output of our LG OLED65B7V TV.

Listening impressions

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT is not the first model we’ve tested in this range, as we already reviewed the Elipson Prestige Facet 14F (small floorstanding speaker) and Elipson Prestige Facet 24F (large floorstander). The Elipson Prestige Facet floorstanding speakers offer a very pleasant listening experience, notably thanks to their precise tweeter.

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT’s remote control.

With the Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT, the behavior of the mid-bass driver is slightly different from what we’ve experienced with the floorstanders. The compact size of the speaker results in an emphasis on the high-bass, borderline low-mids at times, which brings an interesting energy to the lows but also feels limited in the lower end of the sound spectrum. This doesn’t come as a surprise considering the size of the speaker, but it is a bit frustrating.

This is why the amplifier’s tonal correction is a precious asset. Instead of going for a more traditional tonal adjustment consisting of emphasizing a short frequency range in the lows and highs, Elipson went for a more sophisticated approach.

The EQ buttons on the remote control let you adjust low frequencies +/- 5 dB between 80 and 200 Hz. High frequencies can also be adjusted by +/- 5 dB, except this calibration applies to the entire frequency range covered by the tweeter. In other words, between approximately 2 kHz and 25 kHz. This tonal correction is not a traditional EQ but lets you adjust the sensitivity of the tweeter instead. It is therefore possible to fine-tune the speaker’s tonal balance, a really great feature.

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT features a lacquered finish.

We boosted the lows slightly and turned the tweeter up to ensure a pleasant listening experience, complete with luxurious highs. The stereo image is wonderful, and the Elipson 6BT brings an interesting depth to the soundstage, even with compressed digital sources. We observed the same open and spacious restitution with TV sources (DTV, Amazon Prime Video).

Lows: energetic and responsive, but lacking in depth.Mids: a slight emphasis on the mids with the default settings, but this frequency range is well integrated once we turned up the lows and the tweeter’s sensitivity.Highs: soft and smooth, regardless of the settings.

The Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT compared to…

Klipsch R-15PM: the Elipson speaker is less expressive in the lows, except when the EQ is set to emphasize this range. The highs are clearer and more precise with the compact Elipson speaker. The soundstage is also more detailed with the Facet 6BT. The Klipsch R-15PM features an extra USB type-B port to connect a computer.

Tangent Spectrum X5 Bluetooth: the Elipson speaker is globally more expressive and energetic and is also louder, thanks to its 2×70 Watt amplifier.

Audioengine HD6: the Elipson speaker is less neutral and more consensual in the lows and mids, but softer in the highs.

Conclusion

What we liked:

The numerous compatible sources

The Bluetooth aptX codec

The adjustable tweeter sensitivity

The spacious listening experience once the tonal balance is adjusted

The stylish design

What we would have liked:

A display for tone settings (you have to push the reset button to set the adjustments back to zero)

Once the tonal balance is adjusted, these compact speakers are very pleasant and provide a particularly convenient solution to listen to music and watch TV. If you like a lot of bass, it is also possible to connect a subwoofer to the Elipson Prestige Facet 6BT sub out. The speaker’s natural frequency response curve is ideal to work with a model such as the Elipson Prestige Facet Sub8 for a more substantial sound restitution.